Resumes Writing

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Resumes Writing

A resume – sometimes called a curriculum vitae or CV – is a summary of your education, training, work experience and skills. A good resume demonstrates how your skills and abilities match up with the requirements of a job.

How Long Should a Resume Be?

A resume isn’t an exhaustive list. If it’s too long it probably won’t get read. The best resumes are usually no longer than one or two pages.

If you’ve just left high school – whether you finished or not – a one-page resume is perfectly reasonable. If you’re at uni, or you’ve finished uni, you’ve probably got enough experience to fill two pages.

If you need to go over two pages that’s okay, but make sure everything you include is necessary to explain how good a fit you are for the job.

The worst thing to do is to pad out your resume. There’s nothing wrong with a one-page resume, as long as it has all of the relevant information on it. More is not necessarily better.

Do I Need to Change My Resume Every Time?

You need to change your resume for every job application so that it lists the skills and experiences that are most relevant to the job you’re applying for. Not every job will have the same set of requirements, but every resume you send out needs to be 100% relevant to the requirements of that job.

The resume’s purpose is to convince the hiring personnel that you are eligible for interviewing. A customized CV increases the chances more than a generic one. Hence, one should spend extra time to draft the resume to fit the job profile.

How to Tailor Your Resume

One should find out what the job criteria is from a job listing where the key requirements or skills are posted. There may also be a document that details the skills and experience required for the job. This is called the position description. If you found out about the job from your networks, ask the person who told you about it what skills and experience the employer is looking for.

What You Should Definitely Include on Your Resume

Personal Details: Put your full name and contact details on your resume, including your address, telephone number(s) and email address. Make sure you use a professional-sounding email address.

Education and Training: This is a summary of your education and training history, starting with your most recent studies. Make sure that you include all training that’s relevant to the job you’re applying for, including any on-the-job training you’ve done.

Employment History: Generally speaking it’s best to start with your most recent job and work backwards, listing:

The name of the employer
Your job title
The dates you worked there
Your duties and responsibilities
Any major achievements while you worked there

Other Experience: This is a list of your activities outside of work and study. A list of relevant interests can show how well you are suited to the job. You might include clubs you’re a member of or sports you play.

Personal details

First and last names
Current address (and postal address if different)
Home and mobile phone numbers (recorded messages should be business-like)
Email address (avoid using unprofessional email addresses)
Citizenship or residency status (only if requested by the employer)

Don’t include personal information such as your date of birth.

Education

Course dates (eg 2009 – current)
Full course name
Educational institute
Subjects that are relevant to the job (use no more than 3)
Achievements and awards

Skills and qualities

You should list skills specific to the job, include any technical, generic or transferable skills (eg teamwork, problem solving). Write these as a dot point summary and provide an example of each.

Career objective

This section is optional and should be a short, targeted statement that is specific to the job.

Employment history

Period of work
Job title
Business name
Key responsibilities (in a bullet point format)
Achievements

It is usual to list your jobs starting with the most recent. However, if you have course-related jobs you can include these first. Include jobs from the past five to six years that demonstrate the skills the employer is looking for.

Voluntary and community work

Period of work
Title
Association name
Key responsibilities
Achievements

Include participation in community work, clubs, sport associations or youth groups. This shows initiative, leadership and interpersonal skills.

Professional development and further training

Period of training
Title
Training provider, organisation or association name

Achievements

Awards and prizes
Scholarships

Professional memberships

Period of membership
Level (eg student member)
Association name

Interests and hobbies

Write a dot point summary of your personal interests such as community, sporting or cultural activities.

Referees

List two or three people who have seen what you are able to do in an employment or academic environment. Always get permission from referees before including their details on your resume. For each referee, include: